07/09/2014

07/09/2014; 23:55:

Atharv is nearly at a close; it feels like the perfect time to write. Capture the memories forever, for with time they will fade. Nearly a thousand participants were on campus over three days, to participate in various formal & informal events conducted as part of Atharv 2014. Even more spectators were around, to partake in the festivities on offer; the SunBurn this evening ought to see even more people.

Day #1 began among a lot of excitement & speculation. The Inaugural Ceremony saw an opening address by the director, Dr.Rishikesha T. Krishnan, a rather emotional account by the fest coordinator which detailed how Atharv took shape over a span of over six months, how much it means to the whole team and our vision, taking Atharv forward; an invocation the Lord, in the form of song & dance, and then the Inaugural Speech was delivered by Mr. Syed Kirmani, wicket-keeper par excellence & member of the '83 cricket World-Cup winning squad.
This was followed by 'I-Conclave', the panel discussion. On the panel were 5 eminent industrialists of the country, namely Ms.Meher Pudmajee (Thermax India), Ms. Chandna Ghosh (ITC India), Mr. Pradeep Bhargava (Cummins India), Mr. Anurag Jhanwar (Crisil India) & Prof. P.D.Jose (IIM-Banglore). The idea in focus was ‘The role of business houses and MNCs in Sustainability – Building Communities of the Future, the Lifestyle of the Future, the Networked Cities of the Future’. The Panel Discussion was relevant to today's scenario & attentively listened to, by a large audience.

Soon after, the different events were set to begin. The MUN, slated to run for 8 hours each day, on each of the 3 days began immediately.Vox Populi- the voice of the people- Atharv's media event began at around 3, with 92.7 FM's RJ judging the event.We ran around, making sure that everything was in place, while the judges were being waited upon, even going and checking on the MUN, in the middle.

Around 3 p.m, the media was on campus, to cover the event. We were near the fountain, in front of the Acad Block Reception; the MTV crew & VJ Hozey were there too, with their shooting in progress. MTV was to cover Atharv as part of their 'Campus Diaries'. Hozey drew a lot of public attention and at least 200 selfies featuring Hozey were clicked, in the one day. We stood around, talking to Hozey; he is from Mumbai & that was enough in common to set a conversation flowing. We then watched Hozey do a 'Hey! We are at IIM-Indore, that's right the Indian Institute of Management, right here in Indore to enjoy Atharv-their 3-day Cultural & Management fest'. We did lose track of time & had to rush down to the swimming pool where Mr. Syed Kirmani's interview was scheduled. The gym instructors and staff at the Sports Complex had been very happy to be talking to Syed Kirmani sir. It's amazing, the way one sportsperson can respect another, the way no one else can. Mr. Kirmani's interview was a very relaxed one, by the poolside. He loves to talk and is always willing to share his life experiences; and, it's not just cliché when I say that he is really humble, given everything that he has achieved. The interview was followed by a short photo session, both for the media and us fans. This was all done by around 5, since the media had VJ Hozey to catch, at Halla Bol- the Street play event which had begun by 4:30, in front of JAM.

Halla Bol was very successful, with some really good participation that ensured great response from the crowd. There was a spray painting workshop, by Mr. Sunil Gogia from Mumbai, which was being conducted at the same time, in the J-Block Hostel basement, close to JAM. Mr. Gogia had spray-painted a spray-paint can, to have the Atharv logo on a black background. This, he presented to the fest coordinator as a gift, since it was her birthday too!
Meanwhile, in the academic block, War of Words (British Parliamentary Debate) elimination round, Vendition Vendetta (Ad-Marketing) round 2 which was essentially a presentation round, with the presentation focusing on revamping the advertising strategy for a failed product and Strat-o-sphere (Strategy) Round 2, which involved a financial case-study to be analysed & solved, went on, with the participants being pleased with the quality of the events. Round 1 of both Vendition Vendetta & Strat-o-sphere had been held online. The elimination round for the GenKwiz took place from 5 to 6 p.m., in CR-113, with the participants appreciating the level of difficulty of the questions.

When you decide to have 22 events + informal activities + workshops & guest lectures all in 3 days, there’s always more than one thing going on! In the New Auditorium, Campus Princess, which was a closed-event had begun at 3 p.m. Vanity- the Fashion event, began at 6 p.m., to a packed auditorium. And, that auditorium is huge! The judges for the evening were Ms. Poonam Vohra, Ms. Unnati Singh & Miss India 2013 Zoya Afroz. The event was very successful, with team themes ranging from ‘Prom-night’ to ‘Cruise’ and ‘Indian Wear’.
Right outside the Audi, the Karaoke Booth, the PhotoBooth & its crazy props- wigs, wings, placards with funny messages & the like drew a lot of attention. On the floor above, GGWP- the LAN Gaming Event went on, uninterrupted, for all the 3 days- the games included CS 1.6, NFS: Most Wanted, FIFA 14 and DOTA.

Post the Ramp event, Miss India 2013 was rushed to the VIP room and the media quickly followed. Then, an interview was taken, which revolved around the clichés of beauty – inner beauty being most important and how confidence is utmost necessary to achieving anything in life. I remember, when I was younger, looking at the Miss India winners/ participants, and seeing them as lovely, charming ladies, who lived in a world unknown to me. Now, I was in the same room as the current Miss India, and felt a rather strange realization, as I stood listening to the interview and learnt that she was only 20, which was well, almost the same age as me. I’ll be 21 in less than 2 weeks and the fact that we have indeed grown up struck me quite suddenly. I mean, I’m older than the current Miss India, and we aren’t even that different!

Delirium- the Battle of the Bands was to begin in about half an hour, at 10 p.m. After seeing the media off, I went up the hill to the Acad Block, where I met a couple of confused new arrivals. We talked, as I walked them to the registration desk, and they were disappointed on having missed the fashion event. I wandered around, helping with the registration desk (mostly by keeping people in high spirts), till about 11:30. On-spot registrations for the Game of Shadows were in progress, with more and more people turning up, every minute. The event was to begin at mid-night, in NC-1 (Acad Block). I found my way there, unplanned, while escorting a large group of interested participants to the venue. We had expected a good turn-out for our Flagship Game Theory event, but, the number of people there exceeded all expectations. There had been nearly 300 registrations (of which more than half had been on-the-spot registrations). The game was to have 4 rounds, of which the first was to be played then. The game was simply a winner takes all with some prizes for the audience. 60 people from round 1 were to qualify to round 2. Round 1 was called the Minority Rule. A simple ‘yes/no’ type question was to be asked and each person then had 10 minutes to record their answer, at one of 5 polling stations. If you were in the minority, you received a set number of points. At the end of a set number of rounds, the 60 candidates with the highest number of points qualified through to the next round. The game was good fun albeit pretty challenging. My role in the whole thing was limited to talking to all the 300 participants, gossiping, being generally curious about them, giving them insider Atharv news & the like. The whole thing ended after 2 a.m.
I left, to go to my hostel, tired, hungry & excited!! Also, I had all the new friends.